Mounting disk

ABSTRACT

A mounting disk  60  for a mandible die comprises an upper rotary plate  61  and a lower rotary plate  62.  At their extremities, the two plates are rotatably fastened to each other by means of a pivot member  64.  If the median points are offset, then the entire mounting disk  60  is turned around a rotational axis provided by a vertical rotary shaft  3  which is fitted to a base of an articulator screwed into a threaded hole  74,  to thereby achieve a median registration. If molars are positionally offset in spite of the coincident medial points, then a locking rode  81  is loosened so that the upper rotary plate  61  can turn around a rotational axis defined by the pivot member  64  till the molars come into registration, after which the plates are firmly fixed by the locking rod  81.  The angle of rotation at that time is read by use of a scale  76  formed on an arcuate surface  67.  More precise fundamental data can thus be obtained for the jaw joint positional coordination.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention

[0002] The present invention relates generally to amounting disk adapted to be fitted to a dental articulator for orthodontia and prosthesis, the mounting disk being fitted with maxilla and mandible die models to reproduce the relation of articulation between upper and lower teeth. More particularly, the invention relates to a mounting disk for a mandible die model.

[0003] 2. Description of the Related Arts

[0004] A conventional articulator, e.g., an articulator described in Japan Patent Laid-open Pub. No. 2000-42004 comprises, as seen in FIGS. 1 to 3, a pair of posts 2 vertically extending from a base 1, and a rotary plate 3 having one end pivoted to the upper ends of the pair of posts 2 by way of a pair of coordination mechanisms 50. The bottom surface of the rotary plate 3 is provided with a maxilla die mounting disk 5 for mounting a maxilla die model 9 thereon. The top surface of the base 1 is provided with a mandible die mounting disk 6 for mounting a mandible die model thereon.

[0005] The vertical space between the maxilla die mounting disk 5 and the mandible die mounting disk 6 can be regulated by slide mechanisms 20 provided on the right and left posts 2. The mandible die mounting disk 6 is fitted to the base 1 in such a manner as to allow a displacement in the front-to-rear direction and a displacement in the rotational direction.

[0006] More specifically, as seen in FIGS. 14 and 15, the mandible die mounting disk 6 is arranged rotatably relative to the base 1 since a vertical rotary shaft 15 is threaded into a threaded hole 13 centrally formed in the mandible die mounting disk 6, the vertical rotary shaft 15 being inserted through a through hole 19 formed in a slider 18 from the opposite side of the base 1. The angle of rotation of the mandible die mounting disk 6 relative to the base 1 can be read by use of an indicator 36 formed in a seat plate 42 and a scale 37 formed on the circumference of the mounting disk 6.

[0007] Setting of the angle of rotation enables that position to be fixed by deeply screwing a guide screw 16 threaded into a threaded hole 26 of the slider 18 into an arcuate guide groove 12 formed in the rear side of the mounting disk 6. Reference numeral 11 denotes a reference groove.

[0008] The slider 18 is loosely slidably received in an elongated guide through hole 14 formed in the base 1 so that the slider 18 can be moved in the front-to-rear direction by holding a knob 24 of an operation rod fitted to the slider 18. The movement of the slider 18 allows the mandible die mounting disk 6 to be positionally displaced and regulated in the front-to-rear direction. The distance of displacement can be read by use of a scale 39 formed on the side surface of the base 1 and an indicator 38 formed on the circumference of the mounting disk 6. By setting the distance of displacement, fixation at that position is achieved by means of a fixing screw 25.

[0009] The positional offset between the maxilla and mandible die models on the dental articulator can readily be judged by observing the positional offset between the right and left medial cut teeth, i.e., medial points of the maxilla and mandible die models. If the upper and lower medial cut teeth are positionally offset in the right-to-left direction, then the mandible die mounting disk 6 may rotationally be displaced up to a position where the upper and lower medial cut teeth coincide with each other.

[0010] That is, if the upper and lower medial points Q1 and Q2 are positionally offset in the right-to-left direction as seen FIG. 11a, then the mounting disk 6 may be turned in the direction of R1 around a center p1 of the mandible die mounting disk 6 up to a position where the upper and lower medial points come into registration.

[0011] However, some patents may suffer a positional offset between the upper and lower molars in spite of the registration of the medial points Q1 and Q2 as seen in FIG. 12a. In such an event, attempt to register the molars by the rotation in the R1 direction around a mounting disk center p1 may cause a positional offset between the upper and lower medial points Q1 and Q2 as shown in FIG. 12b.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0012] It is therefore the object of the present invention to overcome the drawbacks of the above conventional articulators and provide a mounting disk for a dental articulator having a coordination function to modify the patent's jaw joint position reproduced on the articulator to a proper position in any case.

[0013] To achieve the above object, in the present invention, the mandible die mounting disk is vertically segmented into two parts so as to provide a function that the mandible die mounting disk is turned around its center axis relative to the articulator base and a function that it is turned around the extremity of the mandible die mounting disk, i.e., around the median point thereof.

[0014] According to an aspect of the present invention there is provided a mounting disk comprising a lower rotary plate having at its substantially central portion a mounting portion for a vertical rotary shaft for mounting to a base of an articulator, and an upper rotary plate superposed on top of the lower rotary plate, the upper rotary plate having on its top surface a mandible model fixing portion for mounting a mandible model thereon, the lower rotary plate and the upper rotary plate being rotatably coupled to each other by way of a pivot member disposed at extremities of the lower and upper rotary plates.

[0015] The mounting disk of the present invention may further comprise indication means indicative of a relative position between the lower rotary plate and the upper rotary plate and locking means arranged to lock a relative position between the lower rotary plate and the upper rotary plate.

[0016] Preferably, the indication means include an indication scale and an indicator, the indication scale indicating a relative position between the lower rotary plate and the upper rotary plate, both the lower rotary plate and the upper rotary plate having an arcuate surface on their respective side faces opposite to the pivot member, the arcuate surface having a center axis coincident with a pivotal axis of the pivot member, the indication scale being provided on the arcuate surface of one of the lower rotary plate and the upper rotary plate, the indicator being provided on the arcuate surface of the other of the lower rotary plate and the upper rotary plate.

[0017] Preferably, the locking means include an arcuate skirt, a horizontally extending slit formed in the skirt, and a locking rod passing through the slit, the arcuate skirt being formed by extending the arcuate surface of the other of the lower rotary plate and the upper rotary plate so as to cover the indication scale provided on the arcuate surface of the one of the lower rotary plate and the upper rotary plate, the locking rod having an extremity screwed into a threaded hole formed in the arcuate surface having the indication scale, the locking rod having at its midway an enlarged portion to fixedly tighten the skirt.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0018] The above and other objects, aspects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0019]FIG. 1 is a front elevational view of a mounting disk in accordance with the present invention;

[0020]FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of the mounting disk depicted in FIG. 1;

[0021]FIG. 3 is another side elevational view of the mounting disk depicted in FIG. 1;

[0022]FIG. 4 is a top plan view of the mounting disk depicted in FIG. 1;

[0023]FIG. 5 is a rear plan view of the mounting disk depicted in FIG. 1;

[0024]FIG. 6 is a longitudinal sectional view of the mounting disk depicted in FIG. 1;

[0025]FIG. 7 is an exploded view of a pivot member;

[0026]FIG. 8 is a front elevational view of a locking rod;

[0027]FIG. 9 is a sectional view explaining a method of using the mounting disk of the present invention;

[0028]FIG. 10a is an explanatory diagram showing the method of using the mounting disk of the present invention;

[0029]FIG. 10b is an explanatory diagram showing the method of using the mounting disk of the present invention;

[0030]FIG. 11a is an explanatory diagram showing the method of using the mounting disk of the present invention;

[0031]FIG. 11b is an explanatory diagram showing the method of using the mounting disk of the present invention;

[0032]FIG. 12a is an explanatory diagram showing a method of using a conventional mounting disk;

[0033]FIG. 12b is an explanatory diagram showing a method of using a conventional mounting disk;

[0034]FIG. 13 is a perspective view of a conventional articulator;

[0035]FIG. 14 is a rear plan view of the conventional mounting disk; and

[0036]FIG. 15 is a longitudinal sectional view of the conventional mounting disk.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

[0037] Referring to FIGS. 1 to 6 there is depicted a presently preferred embodiment of a mounting disk for a dental articulator in accordance with the present invention. A mounting disk for a mandible die is generally designated at 60 and comprises an upper rotary plate 61 and a lower rotary plate 62. The upper 61 and lower 62 rotary plates are rotatable at their extremities relative to each other by means of a pivot member 64.

[0038] The pivot member 64 includes a bolt 84 and a setscrew 85 as shown in FIG. 7. The bolt 84 has a threaded portion 87 at its lower half and an unthreaded rotary shank 88 at its upper half. The bolt 84 is inserted into a bearing hole 71 formed in the upper rotary plate 61 so that that the threaded portion 86 is screwed into a bearing hole 72 formed in the lower rotary plate 62, after which the setscrew 85 is firmly fastened such that the upper rotary plate 61 can rotate around the bolt 84 relative to the lower rotary plate 62. Reference numeral 89 denotes a hexagonal recess formed in the head of the bolt 84 for receiving a screwdriver, and reference numeral 91 denotes a hexagonal recess formed in the bottom of the setscrew 85 for receiving a screwdriver for the setscrew 85.

[0039] The top surface of the upper rotary plate 61 is formed with a mandible model fixing portion 63 for mounting a mandible die model thereon. The mandible model fixing portion 63 is provided with an iron dish 70 and three positioning protuberances 66. The dish 70 receives a permanent magnet 65 to firmly attract by its magnetic force an iron substrate disposed on the bottom surface of the mandible die model so that the attractive fixing is achieved by the action of the magnetic force of the permanent magnet 65 itself.

[0040] The dish 70 has at its center bottom a circular hole 92 (FIG. 6), with the underlying upper rotary plate 61 also having a through-hole formed at the center thereof. The through-hole is in communication with a threaded hole 74 formed in the lower rotary plate 62 so that the magnet 65 attractively attaching to the dish 70 can be removed by inserting a proper rod into the threaded hole 74 from below the lower rotary plate 62 and raising the magnet 65 by the rod.

[0041] On the side surface opposite to the bearing hole 71 for receiving the pivot member 64, the upper rotary plate 61 has an arcuate surface 67 whose center axis coincides with the longitudinal axis of the pivot member 64. The arcuate surface 67 is extended downward to provide an arcuate skirt 68. The arcuate skirt 68 has at its center a horizontally extending slit 69.

[0042] On the side surface opposite to the bearing hole 72 for receiving the pivot member 64, the lower rotary plate 62 has an arcuate surface 73 whose center axis is in alignment with the longitudinal axis of the pivot member 64.

[0043] As is apparent from FIG. 5, the lower rotary plate 62 has substantially at its center a through threaded hole 74 for threadedly engaging with a vertical rotary shaft 15 (see FIG. 9) of the articulator generally designated at 1. The lower rotary plate 62 has in its bottom surface an arcuate guide groove 75 configured to receive the tip of a guide screw 16 (see FIG. 9) of the articulator 1. Reference numeral 79 denotes a reference point hole into which the tip of the guide screw 16 is inserted to allow the mounting disk 60 to be fixedly positioned relative to the base 1.

[0044] The arcuate surface 73 is provided with a scale 76 indicative of the relative position between the upper rotary plate 61 and the lower rotary plate 62. The skirt 68 of the upper rotary plate 61 has an indicator 77 for the scale 76.

[0045] Reference numeral 81 denotes a locking rod that has at its one end a threaded portion 83 (FIG. 8) to be screwed into a threaded hole 78 formed in the arcuate surface 73 of the lower rotary plate 62. The locking rod 81 has at its midway an enlarged portion 82 whose diameter is enlarged so that when the locking rod 81 is threaded into the threaded hole 78, the enlarged portion 82 is pressed against the skirt 68 of the upper rotary plate 61 so as to allow the upper rotary plate 61 to be firmly secured to the lower rotary plate 62.

[0046] A method of use of this apparatus will then be described.

[0047] First, as previously set forth in the description of the related arts, the upper and lower die models are disposed on the upper and lower mounting disks to properly reproduce the current position of the patent's mandibular joint on the articulator.

[0048] An X ray of the mandibular joint portion is then taken to observe the condition of the mandibular joint.

[0049] Then, as shown in FIG. 9, the vertical rotary shaft 15 and a fixing screw 25 of the mandible die mounting disk 60 are loosened to achieve a registration in the front-to-back direction between the upper and lower incisors of the die models. The distance of displacement at that time is read from a scale 39, for recording. The vertical position adjustment of the mandible die model is carried out by a slide mechanism 20 of a post 2. The distance of displacement thereof is then measured by a paper-like leaf gage, for recording.

[0050] For the offset of the incisors in the right-to-left direction as shown in FIG. 11a, the entirety of the mandible die mounting disk 60 is turned in R1 direction around the vertical rotary shaft 15 having a rotational axis P1 in such a manner that the upper and lower median points coincide with each other as shown in FIG. 11b. The guide screw 16 is then deeply threaded into the guide hole 75 for fixation and the angle of rotation at that time is read from a rotary scale 86.

[0051] In the event that the molars are offset in spite of the coincidence of the upper and lower median points as shown in FIG. 10a, the locking rod 81 is loosened so that the upper rotary plate 61 can turn in R2 direction around the pivot member 64 having a rotational axis P2 up to a position where the molars are in registration. When the molars come into registration as shown in FIG. 10b, the locking rod 81 is tightened for fixation. The angle of rotation at that time is read from the indicator 77 and the scale 76.

[0052] The thus obtained three-dimensional orthodontia values are used to make a auxiliary tool for jaw joint positional coordination with reference to the status of the X rayed jaw joint.

[0053] The auxiliary tool is placed between the upper and lower teeth to positionally correct the jaw joint. The auxiliary tool is usually worn while being asleep and guides the mandible to its proper position to restore the positional relationship between the mandibular head and the joint disk to its normal position. If the mandibular head or the joint disk suffers an abrasion or damage, the auxiliary tool helps its recovery and achieves a drastic healing of the jaw joint in the abnormal condition.

[0054] In the present invention, the mandible die mounting disk for the dental articulator is vertically segmented into two parts so as to provide a function that the mandible die mounting disk is turned around its center axis relative to the articulator base and a function that it is turned around the extremity of the mandible die mounting disk, i.e., around the median point thereof, whereby measurement can be made of not only the front-to-back displacement and rotational displacement relative to the dental articulator base but also the angle of offset in cases where the molars are positionally offset irrespective of the coincidence of the median points, with the result that more precise fundamental data can be obtained for jaw joint positional coordination.

[0055] Using the auxiliary tool for jaw joint positional coordination prepared on the basis of the fundamental data obtained by use of the mandible die mounting disk of the present invention, the semicircular canals are positionally modified through the rotation and displacement of the temporal bone whereby it is possible to heal the unidentified complaints such as tinnitus and dizziness.

[0056] While illustrative and presently preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described in detail herein, it is to be understood that the inventive concepts may be otherwise variously embodied and employed and that the appended claims are intended to be construed to include such variations except insofar as limited by the prior art. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A mounting disk comprising a lower rotary plate having at its substantially central portion a mounting portion for a vertical rotary shaft for mounting to a base of an articulator, and an upper rotary plate superposed on top of said lower rotary plate, said upper rotary plate having on its top surface a mandible model fixing portion for mounting a mandible model thereon, said lower rotary plate and said upper rotary plate being rotatably coupled to each other by way of a pivot member disposed at extremities of said lower and upper rotary plates.
 2. The mounting disk according to claim 1 , further comprising indication means indicative of a relative position between said lower rotary plate and said upper rotary plate.
 3. The mounting disk according to claim 2 , further comprising locking means arranged to lock a relative position between said lower rotary plate and said upper rotary plate.
 4. The mounting disk according to claim 2 , wherein said indication means include an indication scale and an indicator,. said indication scale indicating a relative position between said lower rotary plate and said upper rotary plate, both said lower rotary plate and said upper rotary plate having an arcuate surface on their respective side faces opposite to said pivot member, said arcuate surface having a center axis coincident with a pivotal axis of said pivot member, said indication scale being provided on said arcuate surface of one of said lower rotary plate and said upper rotary plate, said indicator being provided on said arcuate surface of the other of said lower rotary plate and said upper rotary plate.
 5. The mounting disk according to claim 3 , wherein said locking means include an arcuate skirt, a horizontally extending slit formed in said skirt, and a locking rod passing through said slit, said arcuate skirt being formed by extending said arcuate surface of said other of said lower rotary plate and said upper rotary plate so as to cover said indication scale provided on said arcuate surface of said one of said lower rotary plate and said upper rotary plate, said locking rod having an extremity screwed into a threaded hole formed in said arcuate surface having said indication scale, said locking rod having at its midway an enlarged portion to fixedly tighten said skirt. 